Expert warns against alarm about positions of Armenian brandy in Russian market

ArmInfo. There is no need to  sound the alarm regarding the position of Armenian cognac on the  Russian market.

The head of the Union of Winemakers of Armenia Avag Harutyunyan told  ArmInfo about this, commenting on today's report that almost 90% of  Armenian cognacs sold in Russian stores turned out to be unsafe.

As the specialist noted, such statements are more of a political  nature. Of course, Armenian producers have problems, but they are  constantly being resolved. However, to claim that 90% of all Armenian  products are unsafe is completely groundless. "This is not the scale  and volume, it is obvious that such "research" is based on the  current political moment. Especially if you consider the politicized  nature of the organizations that conducted the research. There is  nothing terrible about them," the head of the Union said.

According to joint research conducted by the international  association "Anti-counterfeit" and the Union of Producers of Cognac,  Spirits and Alcoholic Beverages, which TASS has become familiar with,  almost 90% of Armenian cognacs sold in Russian stores turned out to  be unsafe, while almost half of the products contain non-grape  spirits.

To conduct the research, 200 samples of cognac of more than 20 brands  from ten of the largest Armenian producers were purchased. The  samples were purchased in stores of most Russian federal retail  chains and were sent for analysis to an independent laboratory of the  All-Russian Research Institute of Brewing, Soft Drinks and Wine  Industry. "In 177 of them, or 89% - 9 out of 10 samples, violations  were found. And in almost half of them, non-grape spirits were found.  And grape spirits are what actually make a drink cognac.  And only 23  samples were found to be fully compliant with GOSTs and the  legislation of the Russian Federation," the study says. In this  regard, the Anti-Counterfeit Association sent appeals to the  Prosecutor General's Office, the Federal Customs Service and  Rosalkogoltobakkontrol with a request to take measures for additional  control over imported alcoholic products from the Republic of  Armenia, given that the imported cargo passes in transit through the  Republic of Georgia, and to take measures to limit the circulation of  products that do not meet quality standards in wholesale and retail  networks